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Denmark Repeals Fat, Beer & Soda Taxes

The Danish government is abandoning a beverage tax that it says is costing the country millions of euros as consumers cross the border to shop in Germany instead.

The tax on soft drinks is to be halved by July and completely abolished by next year, making a 1.5-liter bottle of soda three kroner (€0.40) cheaper in the end. The lesser tax on beer is to be cut by 15 percent by July.

Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon told public broadcaster DR on Monday that the tax’s repeal, which has broad support in parliament, would provide a “powerful growth spurt” to the Danish economy.

And…

Lothar Raasch of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Schleswig-Holstein told news agency DPA the changes would have “substantial implications” on cross-border trade, and that soda and beer are “the core business.” However, he added that German businesses have long adapted to attract Danish consumers, stocking greater varieties of goods and diversifying the products they can offer at cheaper prices.

The decision comes months after the government in Copenhagen repealed a similar tax on foods with high concentrations of saturated fats — dubbed the world’s first “fat tax.” The measure was introduced with the intent to incentivize healthier eating, but authorities said it ultimately just drove up food prices and put jobs in jeopardy.

The soda tax repeal is part of a broader plan by the center-left government of Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt to make the Danish economy more competitive. She also plans to cut local business tax and tax credits for apartment and home renovations, coupled with reductions in spending on social welfare and state aid to university students.

So the socialism and “nannyism” of Denmark isn’t working out, as it has never worked in all of history? *shock face*

It’s predictable how those people who claim they want the government to take care of them from cradle to grave are the first to scurry away when they suddenly discover how expensive that “give us more of your money” Nanny State Government is to maintain, especially for lavish welfare entitlements that now exceed the wages of employed folks in other European nations. According to a 2012 Heritage post, Denmark has the highest total tax obligation in the world, and the smallest private sector in Europe, to support one of the biggest public sectors. | Denmark: A Case Study in European Socialism – How It Works and Why You Don’t Want It

One can only hope that this is indicative of Denmark wising up about free market principles and supply and demand.

I don’t think Obama or Bloomberg’s ideology (and arrogance) will allow them to learn anything. They think they have all the answers and if their idea doesn’t work, the mistake is invariably, we didn’t implement their plan properly.

“…the tax’s repeal, which has broad support in parliament, would provide a “powerful growth spurt” to the Danish economy.”

I bet that the “powerful growth spurt” doesn’t replace the taxes lost due to the leftist policy of taxing behavior that they don’t like. Leftist filth accuse right-wingers of being intolerant of other peoples’ viewpoints. That may be so, but progtard trash continually try to tax everything that they disagree with and the consequences are predictable, every time. But leftists are incapable of learning from their mistakes, thus the low-information leftists re-elect Ozero and other Marxists while the nation’s economy falters.

A socialist nannyist will look at this and see instead a reason for “world government”. Why are Danish buying in Germany? Because Germany has not yet bought into sin taxes. It’s not fair. The taxes should be implemented everywhere and the problem would be solved. UN to the rescue!!